March scorcher
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It's getting hot out there, folks, especially for early March.
Zoom in: The latest forecasts from the National Weather Service in Huntsville place tomorrow's high at 81-83, NWS Huntsville Meteorologist Dan Dixon told Axios.
- It could set a new record, replacing the current March 5 record high of 81, set in 1910.
- Normal highs in March are in the 60s: starting at 60.1 March 1 and topping out at 69.4 on March 31. Friday's high will be roughly 20 degrees above normal.
How it works: A strong ridge of higher pressure in the upper portion of the atmosphere, about 20,000 to 25,000 feet above the Earth's surface, is dictating local weather Friday, Dixon said.
- That's coupled with wind coming from the south and bringing warmer, moist air with it for the next several days.
- That wind will bring warmer temperatures overnight, too, he said, meaning daytime temperatures won't have as far to climb to reach the 80s.
By the numbers: Friday night's low is forecast to reach 64 (higher than the normal high of 61.4 for March 5). Normal lows in March range from around 39 to 45.6.
- Over the weekend, it should cool off a bit, with highs around 80 on Saturday and near 75 on Sunday.
What we're watching: It should be rainy this weekend, too, starting Friday night with a 20% chance.
- Saturday's chance of rain and a possible thunderstorm is 70%, and Sunday's 60%.
š Derek's thought bubble: I did ask if I could put my seedlings in the ground, even though the average last frost date locally is April 1. The answer was no.
- Dixon said there's still some cold air in Canada that could come down this way in the wake of an area of strong pressure or a cold front, and a few storms systems will likely move through the area this month with the potential to do just that.